1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a network system, and particularly to a network system for automatically maintaining the environment of investigation and/or development of software in a large-scaled portion or in distant places to thereby improve the efficiency of the investigation and/or development.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For example, investigation and/or development may be performed by a large number of persons, with files to be shared by a plurality of persons being put in a shared file server so that the persons may use the files. Further, in a large-scaled project, it may become necessary that files be shared by a plurality local area networks (LANs), and a plurality of file servers (shared file servers) having the same contents are prepared and provided in areas in which the sharing of files is required.
When the shared files are corrected or when the number of shared files is increased, however, there has been a problem in that since it is necessary to renew the shared files manually, much labor is required for the management of the shared file servers.
Then, it has been proposed that the efficiency of software investigation and/or development is improved by automatically maintaining the environment of the software investigation and/or development.
There has been proposed a network system having a plurality of file storage means connected to each other through a network, in which, for example, means for storing files corresponding to each other into each of the plurality of file storage means and a memory means for memorizing the respective states of the files stored in each of the file storage means are provided, so that when a change in contents of the files corresponding to each other is detected on the basis of the memory means, a management means manages the file storage means so as to make the contents of the files corresponding to each other coincide with each other.
In this network system, there are provided release servers each constituted by a controlling device, a memory device, and a communication device. In each release server, a release map indicating the existing positions, etc. of files is stored in the memory device, so that the controlling device performs file transfer between the release server and the file servers connected to an LAN on the basis of the release map by using the communication device. The release maps in the respective release servers are referred to each other, and if there exists a difference therebetween, the release maps are rewritten that those release maps are made to coincide with each other. As a result, the identity of the contents of the files in the file servers is kept.
In the foregoing network system, the contents of the files in the plurality of file servers connected to each other through the network are automatically maintained so as to be always coincident with each other and it is therefore possible to automatically keep the environment of software investigation and/or development which has been conventionally troublesome. Accordingly, the efficiency of the software investigation and/or development can be improved.
To the network, however, not only information equipment belonging to a section concerning to the software investigation and/or development but information equipment belonging to a section which is not permitted to make access to the software. It is therefore necessary to make a limit in access to the software to be released. In the conventional network system, therefore, users who are allowed to make access to files of software have been set in advance and an access right has been set for every file. Further, there are two kinds of access rights, one being a right allowing writing and reading, the other being a right allowing only reading.
According to the system in which an access right is set for every file and for every user, however, it is impossible to manage software surely for the following reasons.
First, it is necessary that software to be installed into information equipment is to be adapted thereto. That is, there is a case where some software does not operate because of the difference in kind or version of an operating system or because of the problem of matching between the operating system and the software, when the form of the software is not adapted to the equipment regardless of the kind of the software. Consequently, the management on software cannot be realized by the management on the access right for users, and it is necessary that the software is managed by the information equipment into which the software is to be installed.
Secondly, if an access right is given to a user, the user having the access right can copy the software into any information equipment. As a result, use of the software is allowed with no permission.
In the conventional software, the access right has been managed for a user or a user group in view of the construction of a file system in which the software is stored. It has been therefore impossible to perform access management on information equipment.